Sociology Help?

Question

we have to make a collage of our "status" (a position a person occupies within a social structure) and i dont know exactly what that is lol, so far i got girl, brown hair, 17, tennis player, friend

i kinda get it but she says "dont describe yourself"? but she used girl and hair color as an example

Answer 1

Your status indicates things such as class, race, culture, educational level, sexual orientation, immigration-status, ethnic group -- things that are used within societies to differentiate individuals, assign prestige, and organize people into hierarchies. You want to think of things about you that are connected to social structure -- to the ordering of society. Being a tennis player might fit, if you feel that there is prestige connected to it, but not if it is just a weekend hobby. Brown hair also may not be a good fit unless you feel that being a brown haired individual gives you extra prestige or reduces your prestige in society.

Your gender and how you "do" gender might be an important part of your collage, though. How do you relate to gender norms in your everyday life? Can you find images that reflect your status as a woman? Do you feel empowered as a woman in America? Do you wish you were taken more seriously? How does being female influence your status - your prestige - in the society you live in.

Your age would also be a perfectly fine choice, if you can find images that reflect how your age would relate to status. Being just at the verge of adulthood, you could go after the theme of being treated both as a minor (no cigarettes, alcohol, legal freedom) and also as an almost-adult (driving, R-rated movies, paying full rates at movies and things, increased personal responsibility).

Your race might be interesting to explore, especially if you have a sense of how your race (as a social, not biological, construct) impacts your status, privilege, and place in society. Likewise, your economic class (working class, middle class, ultra-rich) is an indicator of status. Do you live in an urban or rural environment? Do you think that this has an effect on your place in American society?

There are tons of other options, I hope these give you some ideas. Good luck and I hope you enjoy this assignment!

Answer 2

Status is a bit of a tricky concept. Think of it this way--society is a sort of vast pyramid--a few people at the top, with layers of people allthe way down to the bottom. And in each layer, there are also relative positions higher or lower in whatever group we are talking about. "Status" is a term that means what a person's position in that complex set of up-and-down relationships is.

Just to be clear about two things. first, a "status" is not a "role"--a role is a "part" you play in a social activity. A lawyer is a work role, being a parent is a family role, and so on. It's something you do, rather than a social characteristic you have--although roles (e.g. being a lawyer) can indicate a high social status.

The other thing is that many things are used as indicators--or as determinants of--status. For example, havingdark skin in the American South 50 years ago meant having a low status--skin color both served as an indicator and as a way of assigning (sociologists say "ascribing") status.

So--heres a few examples of images that (in our society) indicate or determine status. NOTE--this is key--it is not the images themselves, but the MEANING society attaches to the image that determines status. And that meaning can be anything-and varies from culture to culture. For example, being a slender woman in our cultrue is valued--and it is thought to indicate positive qualities--so actresses and other women try to make themselves slender to avooid losing status by being perceived as "fat." But in ancient Polynesian (and some other cultures) obesity was not only a sign of status, it was often an indicator of royalty!

So:
1) A picture of a high school or college graduate--indicates education, which confers higher status
2) Male v. female--men still have higher positions, income, and power--they have more status (again--that is not a moral judgement--simply a description of the social realities).
3) Physical appearance--think about what features (not just weight) are valued (e.g. blonde vs. dark hair, etc)
4) Income, possessions. E.g.--a Porsche indicates higher status than a minivan)
5) what roles you are allowed to play: A student has less status than a teacher; a lawyer has higher status than a waitress, etc.
6) Wher you live can confer status--so can what organizations you belong to.
7) even things like what you do for entertainment. If someonegoes to an art museum, we tend to assume they have fairly high status, compaired to the person who goes to watch pro wrestling--that is an indicator of status.

Hope this helps. Good luck! :)

Answer 3

Everyone has lots of statuses, not jjust a status. Roughly, take these sentences:

I am a _____________.

I am _____________

Generally,what you put in the blanks is a status.


But, every status has a role, in some way because you are (fill in the blank), people would expect you to act or think in a certain way.

And people often use "status" to mean social class, which is the most important status, but not the only one.

Answer 4

Daughter, sister, friend, student, peer....

What groups do you occupy?